Senate candidate Robert Thomas, a Phoenix Republican who is touting himself as a successful businessman, filed for personal bankruptcy in 1994 and he was a wanted man in Mississippi for four years after a judge found him in contempt of court for failing to pay his daughters’ medical bills.

Supporters of Proposition 106 say allowing Arizonans to opt out of any federal or state health care mandate would preserve the right of individuals to make their own decisions. Opponents, however, say the measure could derail the benefits of federal health care reform here if the state can defend it in court.

When politicians and police across the country want to crack down on illegal immigration, they often reach out to the same man: a little-known Kansas attorney with an Ivy League education who is the architect behind Arizona's and many of the nation's most controversial immigration laws.

While supporters of Arizona’s immigration law have said repeatedly that it will allow police officers to check the immigration status of people during the enforcement of other crimes, the law actually gives police much broader enforcement power, according to legal experts and representatives of the law enforcement community.